‘Govt serious in dealing with farm sector challenges’

New Delhi, Sep 02 (PTI):
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday said the government is serious in tackling all the challenges faced by India’s farm sector, including the impact of climate change.
Addressing the 16th Sustainability Summit of industry body CII, the minister said along with climate change, there are other challenges in the agriculture sector.
To deal with these challenges, the government of India is seriously playing its role and fulfilling its responsibilities.
“Due to the imbalance in weather, there is either drought somewhere or flood. In view of such adverse conditions, the government is completely serious. Our scientists are working very diligently for proper seeds etc,” the minister was quoted as saying in a CII statement.
Even during the COVID crisis, Tomar said farmers have worked hard to harvest bumper production, and the farm sector has contributed significantly to the country’s GDP.
Under the important scheme of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, so far, about Rs 1.57 lakh crore have been deposited in the bank accounts of more than 11 crore farmers, the minister highlighted.
Tomar said the Centre has brought new farm laws, which is going to bring about a radical change in the field of agriculture.
“With new agricultural laws, the whole country will be an open market for farmers. In view of this, the private sector can also now invest in modern agri-business platforms, set up post-harvest facilities like godowns, cold storages, etc,” he said.
The minister noted that this will pave the way for better facilities for the farmers at lower charges and is very important for the development of the agriculture sector. These reforms have created substantial investment opportunities and have tried to bridge the gaps.
Tomar said the government has started the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, which will prove beneficial for other industries, including food processing.
To make agriculture profitable for small and medium farmers, he said infrastructure is being developed near the farms.